Onwards and Upwards
by CharlieTubs
Summary: Taz and Up meeting. Not in time parallels with Starship, events happen out of sequence.
1. A new beginning

Chapter 1: A new beginning

Taz stared at the wall. Her first day of training to be a Starship ranger was finally here. Her mother had seen her off, bursting with pride at what her daughter was achieving.

Ever since she was three, Taz had wanted to be a ranger. When the other girls were playing with dolls and skipping ropes, Taz was pretending to shoot things with her toy zapper, or hanging from trees on an improvised surveillance mission.

Taz always wore the same tom-boyish clothes which consisted of tank tops, khaki shorts or trousers and army boots which were in need of repair from over use. She dressed, looked and acted like a boy in every way, (growing up with 3 brothers had toughened her up!) but the one thing that opposed this look was her hair. For as long as she could remember, she had had thick, raven black hair that ran the whole length of her back and hung well past her waist. She always tied it back in a plait or a ponytail, and however much she complained about it and threatened to chop it all off, she never did.

However, one month earlier she finally received her acceptance letter to Space school and told her mother that she wanted it cut off. She was a new person, stronger, fearless, so the girly hair had to go. Her mother, crying through the whole ordeal, took a pair of scissors and cut the ponytail at the base of her neck before neatening up the back and sides and finished by tying a red bandana to keep the stray hairs from falling into her face.

She would never admit it, but as she stared into the mirror that evening, feeling strangely lightheaded due to the weight that had been taken by the hair, and saw her reflection staring back without the black sheet of hair, she cried. For some reason it had let her keep hold of a more innocent part of her, reminding her that not all of her was violent. Mentally, she shook herself. Look at the state of her! Red puffy eyes, runny nose, cracked lips and cheeks glistening softly from the tears she had let fall. That was NOT what a Starship ranger should look like! She wiped her wet eyes and cheeks before dunking her whole head in a bucket of icy water. She towel dried her head before changing into a grubby tank top and leggings which she always slept in. She turned out the light and settled down to another restless nights sleep.

A month on from that night, she had grown accustomed to her new look and now quite liked the ferocious looking spikes that adorned her head. They made her look more threatening, which was always a bonus, especially with her being only 5 feet tall, with a minute frame. She was small, there was no denying that, but the sixteen year old could fight off fully grown men with nothing but a dinner tray.

She stopped reminiscing and focuses on the present. She was about to check the large timer on the wall, telling them the time of arrival when she felt the vessel come to a juddering halt. They had arrived.


	2. Scars

Chapter 2: Scars

Taz straightened up. From around her many people were mumbling in hushed tones. She ignored them, there were many glances thrown in her direction, she was by far the smallest on the ship, but wait until they saw her in action!

She walked to the steel door that was raising slowly, revealing a connection platform that led directly into her new quarters. Her room was along a corridor of identical doors. Each of the rooms had the same simplistic layout, cream walls and ceiling, beige carpet, a single bed with khaki bed sheets, a small table with a dim lamp, a wardrobe that stood facing the bed, and a solitary window. In addition to this, a white door led through to a simple bathroom. A shower, a toilet and a sink were squeezed in to the tiny room. The bare necessities.

Taz looked around her new room. She unpacked her few belongings and placed them regimentally in neat piles in the drawers.

'Lets' start as we mean to go on' she thought with a wry smile.

She had three hours until her first training session, so she decided to investigate her immediate surroundings she pushed open her door and let it swing shut behind her. stealthily she padded down the carpeted hallway. She took a left turn and found herself in some form of lobby. She went down the metal steps which were extremely steep and cold, even through her boots, and descended into the basement where she found the main training centres.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs where she contemplated her options for a while, before turning right and continuing down the narrow passageway.

There were doors every twenty metres on each side of the corridor, each was marked with a number, but all were heavily locked and bolted, except for one door at the very far end of the corridor. A strip of yellow light was visible in the small gap between the door and the wall. Cautiously, Taz crept closer. She pushed the door half an inch further open, just enough to see inside. She saw a man in the centre of the room.

'He must be a commander' she thought to herself, she had never seen muscles like that on a human before.

He stood very still in the centre of the matted floor, and Taz thought that he may have been praying until in a second, he spun round, his fist colliding with a training robot that was directly behind him. His silver hair glistened in the weak light and his biceps flexed threateningly as he proceeded to punch and rip the robot apart until it was nothing but a pile of twisted metal.

He pulled off his shirt which was drenched in sweat, and used it to wipe some of the perspiration which was running down his face. She couldn't help but marvel at the sight of his abs, she didn't think it was humanly possible to be so strong looking. As he turned away to face the far wall again, his back was on full view to the girl hiding behind the door, and what she saw made her step back.

A jagged scar ran the whole length of his back, from shoulder to the middle of his spine, disappearing into his shorts. The line was red and puckered, the surrounding skin angry and inflamed. She let out an involuntary gasp and quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late. The instructor turned to face the door, and in the second that their eyes met, Taz had a strange feeling. His piercing blue eyes found her brown ones and radiated a sense of heat and fury.

The man pulled on his shirt as Taz tore her gaze away and ran as fast as she could back up to her room. From the man's reaction, she could tell that the scar was something she should keep quiet about.

In training room 207, Commander Up pulled on his shirt, his head a blizzard of emotion. He had managed to keep the scar hidden from all of the students and staff, excluding the people who worked in the hospital, and now, on the first day of this season, a small girl had seen it. He punched the wall in frustration. He could NOT seem weak in front of the trainees. They were motivated by fear, and repaid in strength.

As he packed up his things, he pictured the girl who had been hiding behind the door. She was extremely small he remembered. Black hair, sticking up every which way, olive skin and bright, brown eyes that stood out in contrast to her sharp features. Her arms had some serious muscle on them too. She looked like she could pack a punch. He saw her eyes, startlingly familiar, and for a minute he could not place them, but then it clicked. Her eyes mirrored the pain he felt at seeing her standing there. The soft gasp she had emitted seemed to bounce around the large, empty room as he tried to make some order of his mixed up feelings. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Would she mention what she had seen to anyone? She had no reason to. He would not have his reputation as the toughest commander the G.L.E.E had ever seen ruined by her. He'd probably never see her again, he thought to himself, the training centre was so big after all. With this thought he jogged comfortably along the corridor and back to his room to prepare before the first training session.

Taz sat on her bed, lost in thought. She had wanted to say something to him when he saw her, anything to break the look of fear and hurt held between them, but she had run. She tried to forget about the whole thing,

'I mean, it's not likely I'll have to mention it. I'll probably never speak to him again and maybe it's not even that much of a big deal!'

She settled down on her bed, picking up a book and lost herself in the world of literature.


	3. Mixed feelings

Taz re-tied her bandana and gave her face a sharp slap. 'Wake up!' she told herself sternly, 'you have training, you have to focus now!' She swung her jacket over her shoulder and strolled down the corridor to the stairs. In no time at all she was down in the basement again, only this time the narrow passageway was filled with a seething body of people, all trying to get through the small door into the hall.

Taz sighed, and looked around thoughtfully. She saw that she was not only the shortest, but from the look of it, also one of the youngest. She finally managed to push her way through the throng of people and into the hall itself. She took a seat on one of the hard wooden benches towards the centre of the room. When everyone was inside, they were told to stand to attention as the senior commanders entered.

The trainees sprung respectfully to their feet, one boy next to Taz who was about a foot taller than her and had blonde fluffy hair poking out of his cap trod on her foot and exclaimed

'Wooooaaah, sorry little chick, didn't see you there!'

Taz game him the most scathing look she could muster, under normal circumstances she'd have beaten the living daylights out of him, and turned back towards the front of the room.

All the commanders were lined up at the front on a raised platform. Taz moved her gaze along the line, pausing every so often to look harder at a certain commander before continuing the movement of her gaze. At the very far end of the line, next to a red haired woman of about 50 who was built like a tank, she saw a glimpse of silver and as she saw what it was, her stomach lurched. It was him, and just as she comprehended this fact, he turned and directly caught her gaze. She let out a light gasp as his cold blue eyes pierced her body for the second time that day, and did not move her gaze as commander Up stepped forwards and introduced himself to the waiting crowd.

Up stared at the sea of students and found her immediately. Her big brown eyes stood out in her petite face, giving her the inquisitive look of a bush baby. Her small frame was made to seem even smaller by the huge amount of people she was surrounded by, but as she caught his eye, he saw her gasp and saw how underneath the tanned skin on her arm, strong muscles contracted. She stared at him defiantly, her jaw set and he could hardly look away from her captivating gaze.

'My name is Commander Up. I am just one of the highly trained officers who will be putting you through your paces to see if you've got what it takes to be a Starship ranger.'

He paused as many people straightened up in their seats, desperate to prove that they had exactly what was needed. Taz was one of the few who did not. She moved her line of vision around the room, making sure to avoid looking anywhere near Up for fear that she would blush, laugh or burst into tears. What was wrong with her?

'I highly doubt that most of you will make the cut' Up continued. 'You've got to be strong, be tough! You've got to be better than the best!'

Up's gaze continued to move from student to student, he was wondering privately who he would have in his group this year. Each Commander was given a certain ability group to train each year. Up was always given the top trainees, the ones most likely to succeed. He secretly hoped that the girl would be in it, from the look of her muscles, she probably would be. The thought that he may be able to spend some time with her sent a fluttering through his stomach. What the hell? What was wrong with him?

He rolled his shoulders back before looking back at the crowd.

Taz, who hadn't been paying too much attention for fear of making a fool of herself, jumped when a new voice replaced Up's. it was the red-headed female commander who introduced herself as Commander Best. She explained how each trainee would be sorted into ability groups and be linked to a different Commander. They would choose based on a medical examination that had taken place when each trainee applied, a fitness test that had been completed at around the same time, and an IQ test that they had all sat on the spacecraft on the way to the centre.

Commander Best began calling out names, listing the students that would follow each Commander. Gradually the hall emptied and only 25 students were left, including Taz. She didn't want to look at the platform, she was hoping that the one Commander left wouldn't be Up.

Commander Best continued: 'Right, the rest of you will be training under Commander Up.'

Taz gave a silent groan.

Up stepped forwards. 'Alright then boys and girls, you're training with me because you have the most potential, and are most likely to complete this course, but don't get complacent, arrogance makes you weak. You will train daily with me, you will be on time to all sessions or you will be punished. You will push yourselves to the max at every session or you will be punished. You will respect every person here as equal or you will be punished, and you will not break any of these rules or you will be punished. Do I make myself clear?'

No one said anything, you could have heard a pin drop so absolute was the silence. Up looked directly at the girl. He may as well get the awkwardness over with, he would be training her for the next few months.

She could feel his gaze on her and pulled her arms closer around her tiny waist, staring determinately at the floor. She peeped up through her thick eyelashes and saw him staring directly at her. Other people were beginning to follow his gaze and look at her too, many craning their necks to see over peoples heads to where she was standing. She fidgeted. She had never liked being the centre of attention, she liked her own company.

She looked up and stared Up straight in the eye. The sudden eye contact threw Up off balance. He cleared his throat before continuing. 'Now!' Up barked, startling the whole congregation, 'I want you to march to training room two-oh-seven and line up against the back wall to await further instructions.'

The students leapt up, seeing the heat in Ups gaze and not wanting to be on the receiving end of it, whatever it was about. Taz maintained her cool disposition as she slipped past Up who reached the door just before her. Her bare arm brushed his hand as he reached to hold the door.

She looked up at him, an apology hanging on her lips as she saw how close their heads were. His lips were just inches from her forehead and neither of them could say a word. The blue eyes met the brown and both their pulses quickened. A bang from outside brought them back to their senses and Taz scrambled from the room and down the corridor.

Up carefully brushed the part of his hand her skin had touched, it felt normal, but for a moment he had felt his skin tingle as though warm water was splashing onto it, it was a pleasant sensation that filled him with anticipation. He looked down the corridor just in time to see the girl pause with her head in her hands, before continuing after the rest of the group.

Taz stopped a way down the corridor. What the HELL had just gone on? She'd been here a day and already her cool façade had slipped, revealing a vulnerable young girl that she didn't like, didn't know. She raised her head, and realised that she was shaking. She straightened up and walked around the corner to the room that had started all this trouble.


	4. Heightwise

Chapter 4: Height-wise

Taz looked around the cavernous space. The new trainees were all huddled towards the middle of the room, their cool and collected personas slipping as they all tried to be nearest the centre of the group. Taz scoffed inwardly; there was no way she'd be standing with any of them. She made her way over to the far side of the room and looked around aimlessly, feigning boredom when in reality her heart was cartwheeling around her chest in anticipation.

When Up finally entered the room, Taz's heart seemed to stop altogether. However much she tried not to, Taz couldn't help but marvel at the sight of his muscles, which were even more visible as he had changed from his grey bodysuit into a white tank top, not dissimilar from her own. She couldn't make sense of what she was thinking, she'd never been one of the girls to gossip about boys. It wasn't that she didn't like them, she just didn't notice them in that way. No one was distinguishable.

Up had paused outside the door before entering the room. His hands were trembling as he fought to keep control of himself. He pulled off the top layer of his bodysuit revealing a tight tank top that clung to his muscles threateningly and ran one shaking hand through his silver hair. He pushed open the heavy door and walked into the room.

'Right! Every one of you, fall in! Height order from tallest to smallest, GO!' He tried to avoid the girls eye as she scowled across the room at him. She must have thought he'd said height order to humiliate her in front of everyone else. This hadn't actually crossed his mind, but he didn't think she's wait to ask questions before judging him.

People started to move around the room, measuring their heights against each other, a few arguments breaking out among people of similar statures. Taz was glaring daggers at Ups back, he had obviously done this to humiliate her.

'Well, we'll see won't we?' She thought to herself as she took her place at the far right of the line. She was the smallest by at least 4 inches. To her immediate right was a young woman of about 5'4 who despite being told to obey orders had her nose buried in a difficult equation on her calculator. Her small round glasses slipped down her nose as she muttered a stream of numbers and letters to herself. About halfway down the line, the man who had trodden on Taz's foot earlier was watching the other woman with a look of confusion on his face.

Taz shook her head. What the hell was wrong with these people? She may be the smallest by a mile, but she was pretty sure she could kick every single one of their butts when it came to physical training. She relished the idea of turning the joke about her height on some of these 6 and a half foot giants.

Up paced down the line, shouting orders at individual soldiers: 'Tuck your shirt in! Stand up straight!, You call THAT STRAIGHT? Chin up, looking at your feet isn't going to help you when your opponent is in front of you is it!'

Up requested that each new recruit state their name as he walked past them down the line. Taz learned that the goofy man who had trodden on her foot was called Krayonder, and the geek next to her was called Specs. A blonde bombshell who didn't look like she had two brain cells to run together was called February, 'like the month, but a person!' This response had got scathing looks from both Taz and Up, whilst most of the men in the group couldn't keep their eyes off her.

By the time they reached Taz, she was growing tired of the people already. Up stopped in front of her, looking slightly above her head to avoid eye contact.

'And what's your name, soldier?'

'Taz, Commander' she said in her slight Spanish accent.

This was the first time Up had heard her speak properly, and the force with which the words came out of her mouth did not suit her size at all. Under usual circumstances she would not be someone you wanted to mess with. Again he looked down at the muscles bulging in her arm, and felt her gaze track his face. He walked away quickly, a slight blush colouring his cheeks.

He explained the course that the rest of the day would follow. Taz zoned out as he explained the different activities and team building exercises that they would all undergo. She was imagining all the ways that she could prove herself to be tough enough to get the job done.

Up clapped his hands loudly and said 'right, I want all of you to get into teams of five. Go!'

Taz made no effort to go with any particular group, which may have been a mistake she though later that evening, because she ended up with the blonde bimbo February, Specs, Krayonder and some half-wit called 'Tootsie Noodles'. Sighing inwardly at the mishmash of people in her group, she looked at each of them in turn. Krayonder was peeping over Specs' shoulder as she read a complicated calculus problem. Urgh, Taz had never liked calculus. February was talking to four boys from different groups and flicking her hair in a most annoying manner, and her laugh had to be the most irritating thing Taz had ever heard. Tootsie was trying to get February's attention by explaining the origins of his name. 'You see where a' come from, Faaaarm planet, your first name's whatcha do, 'nd your second name is whatcha like!'

Taz could tell that this was going to be a long afternoon. She looked around and saw the Commander staring at her, a gleam in his eye, automatically she rolled her eyes at the idiocy of her group and very surprisingly, he winked at her before putting a finger to his lips and turning away again.


	5. Reprocussions

Chapter 5:

Up explained that the groups would be competing in head-to-head challenges to win points. The more points you had, the less fitness work outs you were required to do before meal times.

'These tasks will test your very being, they are designed to push you to your limits!'

Taz was excited, she rarely felt this way but adrenaline was pumping through her veins at that thought of being able to run and fight again. This is what she was born to do, now she would finally get a chance to prove herself.

The first challenge was an assault course. For a team to win, the whole group must get through. Taz analysed the course, and knew exactly what she needed to do. She explained the course of action she would take to her team, who seemed inclined to go along with what she said, on the whole.

'But what if like, a SHARK is in that pond or something man? Then how would we swim across it?'

Taz tried to ignore Krayonder, Tootsie and February, only really taking interest in Specs who was the only one who seemed vaguely normal. Taz tried her hardest to look like a leader, as Up was walking round listening to peoples plans and seeing how they worked as individuals and as teams. Taz wanted to prove that she was just as good as any 6 foot tall male.

The assault course began. As soon as the first person in the team got to the quarter way point, the next was allowed to go. February was first in Taz's team, she got stuck in the mud, but as Taz's plan had dictated, Tootsie caught up and carried her through. Krayonder didn't swing on the rope across the stream until Specs was behind him. He swung and heard Specs yell 'NOW!' He let go, and flew through the air, making a neat landing due to Specs calculations of trajectory.

Taz was last. She completed the first half no problems, racing ahead of the competition. A few people from other teams had reached the end, but no more than half a team. The rest of her group were all approaching the finish line at a similar pace and Taz raced to meet them. Her slight frame made swinging through the trees and clambering, monkey-like over walls easy and within no time she had caught up with her teammates.

The last obstacle was a mudslide, which led straight underneath the finishing banner. Taz leapt forwards and as she did she felt February grab her ankle, as planned, and from the series of tugs behind her felt the others to the same. All joined, the team slid down the ramp and under the finish line.

'Wooooooah, that was like, out of this world man!' Krayonder exclaimed as the whistle blew to signify their victory. 'You're one smart chick Taz!' Taz looked at him and moved her lips upwards in what could be seen as the ghost of a smile.

From the corner of the assault course, Up watched the winning group. He stared at Taz as she was talking to Krayonder, and for the first time he saw an emotion that wasn't hostility, defiance or sadness flit across her face. That small change in emotion transformed her face. Her brown eyes softened and it was as though her whole face lit up in that one tiny movement. Up stood, transfixed at the change. He looked around to see if the other groups were near finishing before turning his gaze back to Taz.

He wasn't expecting her to be standing directly in front of him and he automatically took a step back. He regretted the move instantly as he saw her face fall.

'Our group is all done.' Taz said softly to him, before turning on her heels and following her group inside.

Taz was furious with herself. That one instance of weakness, she let her guard down for one minute and he stepped away from her. Well, that was it. No more playing nice. 'I'm not going to let him get the better of me. I'll show him how tough I really am.'

Up stared after her. He had to stop this, whatever she was making him feel, it wasn't healthy for either of them. He'd put her through her paces. He walked inside, calling the group to order.

'Right then, I've got a bone to pick with you lot.' Up said when the muddy and dishevelled group were back in height order again in the training room. 'Those were possibly the worst assault course times I have on record. It's a training course, not a play park!' He looked down the line and saw Taz about to object, looking furious. 'Even your group, Soldier.' He said to her with a cool sneer. 'You may have won, but a group of 5 years olds could have done better.'

He was lying of course, but it was a necessary part of his job to motivate the group to work harder. This years' trainees had actually been the best he'd ever had, but there was no way in hell he's admit that to them.

'Let's just hope that after lunch you'll show me something that will actually convince me you've got what it takes! Before you eat, I want each of you to drop down and give me 200 press-ups! And that INCLUDES you, team.' He said to Taz's group, who had started moving towards the door.

'What? You said winning the challenges exempted us from this stuff man!'

Taz just stared at Up. The cold glint she had seen in his eye when he caught her spying on him was back. She glared at him but he didn't flinch. 'Well, that was before I saw how shocking this little episode was. Press-ups, now! You can do an extra fifty for questioning my authority!'

The group all groaned apart from Taz. She did the press-ups, but by this point they were already 100 behind the rest of the groups. She caught up quickly, she was used to these sort of drills, but Up accused her of skipping numbers and made her start again. By the time she finished her 450 press-ups, the rest of the trainees had gone to lunch.

Taz gathered up her things and turned to leave. She avoided eye contact with Up, as she didn't think she could look at him without punching him right in his smug face. She's show him, after lunch they were doing one on one combat. She relished destroying the competition, giving him nothing to criticise her about. She stormed back to her room to clean up, she ate her lunch quickly before changing into fresh clothes and heading back to the training room with the rest of the group. This would be a session that they would all remember, for the rest of their lives.


End file.
